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The election is over, so we have a brief reprieve from the nonsense and dishonesty that dominates our politics. OK, just kidding.
Based on the campaign rhetoric one would think New York had the best economy in the country while leading the nation in unicorns and freebies for people who did not earn it based on our "generous welfare system." If not for President Donald Trump, Iran's Mullahs would forget their 1,400-year-old Quranic requirement to destroy everything non-Islamic, and the Chinese would respect Taiwan's independence. Meanwhile those who oppose "forever wars" fully support keeping the Ukraine war going forever.
Senate candidates in Florida and Michigan entertained us with song and dance routines because nothing demonstrates economic and foreign policy expertise like a good hip-hop routine. We could do just as well by electing our government from "Dancing with the Stars."
Missing from the New York political debate was the ridiculous cost of running New York state. Our 2025 operating budget was $7,230 per person, compared to only $3,697 for Ohio and $3,855 for Pennsylvania. New York also has an accumulated debt of $37,000 per person. Will illegals and welfare recipients pay their fair share?
So, how does Albany abuse us? Let us count the ways.
— Medicaid Mandate: New York is still the only state that requires counties to subsidize Medicaid costs, and our state-mandated Medicaid benefits are the most obscenely generous in the nation. 43% of our property taxes In Chautauqua County pay for it. We also lost billions to Medicaid fraud under Kathy Hochul's watch, and she did nothing to stop it. This problem won't get better. Reserve your U-Haul.
— Energy Policy: In spite of the UN IPCC's admission that "Climate Disaster" isn't happening - and New York having already wasted $79 Billion for useless Green Energy – Albany continues to force taxpayers to subsidize an additional billions of dollars for this profound waste.
To save New York we would have to repeal the CLCPA (Climate) legislation and allow our energy future to be designed by people who actually know what they are doing - rather than by the radical Leftists that control Hochul's Climate Action Council.
New York voted to continue the extortion. Reserve your U-Haul.
— Parasitic Welfare State: New York's welfare state is destroying our economy and our people - putting us on the same death spiral as England, France, and Germany. Yet Albany keeps forcing taxpayers to reward those who refuse to pull their own weight.
A simple fix would be to adjust New York's Welfare and Medicaid benefits so that they do not exceed the average of the other 49 states. But this election demonstrated that the majority of New Yorkers like being robbed. So, we can either "cut (Hochul) a check" or grab a U-Haul.
— Corrupt Education System: New York spends $40,000 per year per student on public education - more than double the $18,000 average for the U.S. Yet our students finish below average in the US (NEAP) and rank dead last in the industrialized world in math and science (PISA). We are being ripped off by the Public Education monopoly, and nobody seems to care except a few parents who are reserving their U-Haul.
We must stop rewarding public schools for their incompetence and create a competitive education system by providing a voucher (say $20,000) to each student and let parents pick from any school they choose - public or private. That's still $2,000 more than the US average.
Sweden privatized their education system this way, but don't tell Bernie.
So don't expect "Education Justice" anytime. New York just voted to stay in the third world of education. Parents - escape with your kids while you can. Grab a U-Haul.
— Handouts to illegals: Illegal aliens cost US taxpayers hundreds of $Billions (net) each year for medical, education, and living expenses, not to mention the intangible costs of increased crime. Even when illegals work (contrary to law), many still receive Medicaid, food subsidies, and other freebies thanks to corrupt bureaucrats and politicians. Illegals suppress wages and take jobs from Americans who remain unemployed, costing taxpayers even more.
Last year Albany fleeced state taxpayers for $8 Billion to subsidize illegals. But don't expect Taxpayer Justice anytime soon. New Yorkers voted to keep the "sanctuary" scam going. Reserve your U-Haul.
— Moratorium on Data Centers: With careful respect to the wording, Hochul placed a one-year moratorium in the "building" of Data Centers. That doesn't mean they are not being planned right now. What happens after one year?
The one-year moratorium was merely a convenient political gimmick for the election. Reserve your U-Haul.
Enable Law Enforcement: We are all at risk from dangerous people being released back onto the streets just to satisfy a lunatic political ideology. But New Yorkers obviously like being crime victims and voted to keep it that way.
Based on the election it will only get worse. Grab that U-Haul.
Michael Dee is a Silver Creek resident while Scott Axelson resides in Jamestown.